Keeping Up With Windows Fixes

For large enterprises, sorting through Microsoft Corp.'s bulletins on its latest security fixes and then determining which machines need what hot fix can be complex and time-consuming.

For large enterprises, sorting through Microsoft Corp.s bulletins on its latest security fixes and then determining which machines need what hot fix can be complex and time-consuming. Configuresoft Inc. this week is releasing a tool designed to automate much of that work. Security Update Manager, a module for the Woodland Park, Colo., companys ECM (Enterprise Configuration Manager), automates management of security patches in large Windows-based networks.
The tool alerts system administrators to new security bulletins issued by Microsoft, scans ECMs database to determine which servers in the enterprise are vulnerable to the attack and then with a single mouse click deploys the required patches to target servers.

A key is the tools integration with the XML files that Microsoft uses in its bulletin to describe what applications the latest patch addresses and how the patch relates to other bulletins.